Photo of the Hero of the Soviet Union, Infantry Lieutenant L.N. Ponomarenko.

The original photo is in excellent collector's condition. The size is 107*157 mm. Guarantee of authenticity.

Leonid Nikolaevich Ponomarenko (March 18, 1919 — February 1, 2014) was a Soviet infantry officer during the Great Patriotic War. Hero of the Soviet Union (07/21/1944). Guard major.

On October 6, 1941, the 93rd East Siberian Rifle Division, in which the commander of the rifle squad, Sergeant Major L. N. Ponomarenko, served, began loading into trains for shipment to the Western Front. On October 22, 1941, the division took up positions on the outskirts of Moscow in the Podolsk area. Soon it was incorporated into the 43rd Army and was ordered to stop the German offensive along the Kaluga highway. Having completed a forty-five—kilometer march, the 93rd Infantry Division engaged in battle with the advanced units of the Wehrmacht on the Kamenka—Bogorodskoye-Rogovo line on October 25, 1941. After the German offensive in this direction was stopped, the division was withdrawn to the rear. On November 7, 1941, Foreman L. N. Ponomarenko participated in a parade on Red Square, after which he returned to the front as part of his unit. On December 9, 1941, Leonid Nikolaevich was seriously wounded in a battle on the Nara River near Naro-Fominsk and evacuated to a hospital.

After a month and a half of treatment in a hospital in Tomsk, L. N. Ponomarenko was sent to Novosibirsk, where he completed accelerated courses for junior lieutenants. In September 1942, Second Lieutenant L. N. Ponomarenko arrived at the 39th Guards Rifle Division of the 62nd Army of the Southeastern Front. As a commander of a rifle company, he participated in battles near the village of Kotluban, then north of Stalingrad. He was seriously wounded by a shell fragment again. He was treated in Novosibirsk, from where, after recovering, he was sent to Leningrad in January 1943. On the Leningrad Front, during the defense of Leningrad, Leonid Nikolaevich fought as commander of the rifle company of the 381st Infantry Regiment of the 109th Infantry Division, first as part of the 2nd Shock Army, and from September 1943 — the 42nd Army. In the winter of 1944, he participated in the Novgorod-Luga offensive, during which the siege of Leningrad was finally lifted. However, a large group of Finnish-German troops continued to threaten the city from the north. In order to defeat it, the Soviet command began to develop the Vyborg-Petrozavodsk operation.

Before the start of the offensive on the Karelian Isthmus, the 109th Rifle Corps, which included[3] the 109th Rifle Division, was secretly transferred to the Sestroretsk area and was incorporated into the 21st Army. During the Vyborg operation, army units had to break through the heavily fortified enemy defenses up to 120 kilometers deep, consisting of 3 lines and Vyborg defensive lines. The Karelian Rampart, built in 1942-1944, formed the basis of the Finnish defense. During the Soviet-Finnish War, Red Army units spent 100 days breaking through this defense. In June 1944, only 12 days were allowed to complete combat missions. On June 10, 1944, the 1st assault company of Lieutenant L. N. Ponomarenko rapidly crossed the Sestra River and captured the first line of Finnish trenches in the defense zone of the 4th Army Corps with almost no losses. Then Ponomarenko's company cleared the second line of trenches from the enemy and blocked the bunker, ensuring the advance of its regiment. Developing an offensive along the Primorsky highway, by the evening of the same day, Lieutenant Ponomarenko and his fighters skillfully occupied the village of Kellomyaki, preventing the enemy from organizing a defense. On June 11, continuing to act in the vanguard of the main forces of the regiment and sweeping away enemy barriers, the 1st assault company was the first to enter the large settlement of Terijoki. Advancing along the Leningrad-Vyborg railway, the 109th Rifle Corps reached Karelsky Val at dawn on June 12, 1944. The Finns put up fierce resistance, but in four days of fighting, the left flank of the 21st Army broke through the enemy's defenses to their full depth and forced the Finnish troops to retreat to the field fortifications that remained on the Mannerheim line destroyed in 1940. On June 18 and 19, Finnish troops launched several fierce counterattacks, but were forced to retreat with heavy damage. On June 20, 1944, units of the 21st Army launched an assault on Vyborg. During the street fighting, Lieutenant L. N. Ponomarenko was wounded in the shoulder by a Finnish sniper, but continued to lead his unit. By evening, the city was completely liberated. In just 11 days, Ponomarenko's company fought 120 kilometers and broke through three enemy lines of defense. During the Vyborg operation, Leonid Nikolaevich repeatedly demonstrated personal courage and more than once led his company to attack.

By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated July 21, 1944, Lieutenant Leonid Nikolaevich Ponomarenko was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union for his exemplary performance of combat missions at the front of the command against the German invaders and his bravery and heroism.

After the award ceremony in the Kremlin, Leonid Nikolaevich returned to his unit, which fought as part of the 2nd Shock Army, and took part in the Narva operation. At the end of July 1944, an enemy shell hit the dugout where Lieutenant Ponomarenko was staying. Leonid Nikolaevich received a severe concussion and a shrapnel wound. He was treated in hospitals for four months and did not return to the front. He continued his service at the Oktyabrsky district military enlistment office in Novosibirsk. In August 1946, Senior Lieutenant L. N. Ponomarenko was discharged from the reserve for health reasons.